Reed motion control for terry loom



Feb. 23, 1965 E. CARTER 3,170,490

REED MOTION CONTROL FOR TERRY LOOM Filed June 14,1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Edward L. Carfer INVENTOR BY M LZ MAM ATTORNEYS Feb. 23, 1965 E. L. CARTER 3,170,490

' REED MOTION CONTROL FOR TERRY LOOM Filed June 14, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 4a 5/ EdwardL-Carfer INVE NTOR BY whim 11M ATTORN EYS Feb. 23, 1965 E. L. CARTER 3,179,49G

REED MOTION CONTROL FOR TERRY LOOM Filed June 14, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 w fgdwardLCarfer "'3 INVENTO A avl/MM ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,170,490 REED MOTION CONTROL FOR TERRY LOOM Edward L. Carter, Kannapolis, N.C., assignor to Cannon Mills Company, Kannapolis, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed June 14, 1963, Ser. No. 287,989 9 Claims. (Cl. 139-27) instead of being caused to beat up on each pick, as in an ordinary loom, is prevented from beating up'by being swung back away from the fell of the cloth by a reed motioncontr'ol. After the third pick, the ground warp is held tight, and at the same time a predetermined amount of pile warp is let off. The feed motion control is then actuated so as to hold the reed in the forward position,

i.e. it does not swing the reed back, and the normal forward movement of the lay, on which the reed is mounted, causes the picks to be beat up and the pile warps to be looped out on opposite sides of the cloth, thereby forming the terrycloth.

The usual way of controlling the reed motion is by means of a cam device which is usually positioned under the loom, often at the back of the loom, and which device has a cam shaped so that at the speed at which the cam is driven, it will act to swing the reed back for two 3,i?,49 Patented Feb. 23, 1965 "ice ture and operation are concerned, such solutions have only caused problems to multiply.

The present invention has as an object the provision of a simple reed motion control which eliminates the necessity for a cam mechanism, and which provides a simple control of the reed motion which is easily accessible on the loom and is easily adjustable.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a reed motion control which is light in which and which is inexpensive both to manufacture and :to maintain.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a reed motion control which provides a wide range of adjustments for the reed motion, and by means of which the timing of the reed motion can be changed easily and quickly.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification and claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is front perspective view of a terry loom according to the present invention showing only the parts with which the present invention is concerned;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view along line 22 of FIG. 1 showing the reed in the beat up position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 in which the reed is in the swung back position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower portion of the loom showing the reed motion control in detail; 7

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a center reed lock motion according to the present invention; and

picks and then to ,hold it forward on the third pick.

While such cam devices give a positive control over the reed motion, they are otherwise subject to disadvantages in that they are usually quite heavy and therefore add to the weight of the loom and use up power during their greater in number than three, the entire cam mechanism together with the gearing driving it must be changed over. Inaddition, when it is desired to disengage the reed motion control so that the reed beats'up on each pick ,FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of the lock motion of Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the loom lay 10 has a reed 11 pivoted on studs 15 at the ends of the reed cap 14, the

. reed 11 being held in the reed cap, reed hangers 13 and in order to weave in the ordinary manner, which is often necessary in weaving towels of terrycloth, this must usually be done by disengaging a pin or key from the linkage at'a point between the cam control and the rest of the linkage. The disengagement almost always occurs at a time when there is a strain on the linkage, and as a resultthe pins or keys wear out frequently and must be replaced. Due to the position of the cam mechanism under the loom, this requires a great amount of effort and is time consuming, thereby resulting inexpensive down time for the loom. The cumulative effect of such down time for looms in a large mill can become very great.

Efforts have been made to solve these problems, but they have been mainly in the direction'of simply increasingthe number of cams to provide flexibility in operation and providing means for switching over from one cam to the other during operation. Insofar as maintenance and adjustment of the loom and economy in loom manufacthe reed bed 12. A typical linkage for swinging the reed .11 counterclockwise in FIGS. 2 and 3 away from the fell of the cloth (not shown) which is to the left in the figures .is provided at each end of the reed. The linkage comprises a reed frame arm 16 on the reed, having one end of a reed motion toggle 17 pivoted thereto. The other end of the togglel'7 is pivoted to the lay 10, and the two links of the toggle are pivoted to each other at a center pivot 18. A lockingspring 19 is connected between the said other end of the toggle l7 and the frame of the loom and tends to pivot the toggle 17 past the dead center position as shown in FIG. 2, in which position the reed is in the fully beat up position.

Pivoted to the center pivot 18 is a reed motion link 23 having the other end slidably linked to a reed motion crank 22 which is fixed on a reed motion shaft 20 by means of set screws-22a. Shaft 20 is mounted in self aligning bearings 21.

In operation, when the picks are to be beat up to the fell of the cloth, the reed motion shaft is rotated tothe positionshownfin FIG. 2, in which the reed motion cranks 22 raise the reed motion links upwardly to the point at which the toggle 17 is at least in the dead center position, the movement of the toggle past the dead center position into the locking position being accomplished by the spring 19. With the reed motion links in the uppermost position, as the lay 1t swings forwardly, the reed 11 will be kept locked in the forward position, since the links of the toggle 17 cannot break downwardly past the dead center position.

When it is desired to merely lay the picks into the cloth without beating them up, the reed motion shaft is rotated to the pisiton shown in FIG, 3, in which the reed motion cranks do not raise'the reed motion links upwardly, but rather hold them in a lowered position as 7 compared to the FIG. 2 position. With the center pivot 18 of the toggle 1'7 thus held, when the lay moves forward, the toggle 17 will be broken downwardly, and since looms. Inasmuch as the linkage is only typical, it will be understood that other similar linkages can be and are used, the common feature of all of them being that the toggle portion is pivoted at the center thereof and has the reed motion link 23 pivoted to the center thereof. It

will be readily apparent to those in the art that any other common linkage which can be broken so as to swing the reed back away from the fell of the cloth and which can be locked to keep the reed from swinging back so that it moves forward into the beat up position when the lay moves forward can be used. It will also be understood that the reverse of such a linkage could be used, in which the straight line position of the linkage would swing the reed back and the broken position would hold the reed forward, could also be used. All of these linkages are 1 broken or held in position by the raising. and lowering of the reed motion link 23 under the action of the reed motion crank.

The present invention is directed to an especially simple means for controlling therotation of the reed motion shaft Z tiso as to stop the reed motion cranks 22- in either of the two positions in which the reed motion link drawings comprises a wire SZ'the other end of which is connected to one arm 33a of a crank 33 pivotally mounted on a bracket 34 on one of the frame members 26.,

The other arm 33b of the crank has a'chain 35 attached to the end thereof, and the other end of the chain 35 is connected to the free end of an arm fixed on the loop pile warp left-off shaft (not shown). In addition, the arm 33a has connected thereto a wire 36 the other end of which is connected to an arm 37 on a shaft 38 which is actuated by a loom control head, such as a box chain head, a dobby head, or a Jacquardhead (not shown).

A cycle of the operation of the means for controlling the rotation of thereed motion shaft 242' commences with the reed motion shaft in the said second'rlotational posi-.

tion with thereed motion cranks 22 in the position shown in PEG. 2 in which beat up occurs. T hereaftenwhen the lay swingsback, the reed motion control shaft 20 is rotated to the first position and then back toward the second position by the drive means. 'At' this point, theshuttle to a position in which the-loop pile is not let off, or by the action of the control head. The lateral movement of the control rod 28 moves the milled end thereof into the 'path of thefree end of the adjusting arm 24, whereupon 23 prevents the linkage frorn'breaking or causes the linltage to break. The reedmotion shaft 20 is driven from conventional loom drive means (not shown) which"ro-" tates it back and forth about its longitudinal axis between a first' rotational position and a second rotational position.

In the second rotational positionthe reed motion cranks 1 V 22. are in theposition shown in 1 16.2, while in the first ingly the connection is not described here in detail.

'As seen in detail in FIG. 4, there is a reed motion adjusting arm 24 secured on the reed motion shaft 20- near the center thereof by meansof set screws 24b, so that it can be adjusted lengthwise or rotationally of the shaft,

2%; Threaded through the free end of the reedrnotion adjusting arm 24 is an adjusting screw 24a.

Extending laterally from a point adjacent the path of movement of the free end of the adjusting arm 2% is a tubular member 25 mounted on loom frame members 26 by means'of brackets 27. Slidably-mounted within the tubular member 25 is a reed motion control rod 28 which has thereon a projection 29 to which isconnected a spring 36 attached 'to loom frame member 31 and biasing the control rod 28 toward the path of the end of the adjuste ing arm 24.' Projection 29 projects through an aperture 25a and the extremeend position of the rod 2S is established by .the projection 29 abutting the endof the aperture 254;. This extreme end'position of the rod 28 is a position in which the end of the rod lies in the path of the free end of the adjusting arm 24. The end of the rod 28 in the embodiment shown'has a flat 28a milled thereon against which the adjusting screw 24a is abute table.

On the end of the control rod 28 opposite the endthe adjusting screw 24a abuts the milled tiat 28a and the reed motion shaft is blocked. 'Since the reed motion shaft 20 has swung to the first position the reed motionlink 23 p has been lowered to the FIG. 3 position, and the toggle.

7 relative movement between the layv and link23. V On the next pick, the samejaction is repeated, the control rod 25 beingleftjinthe path of the adjusting arm 24, so that upon forward movementof thelay, thelink 23 is preventedxfrom rising, the toggle 17 is broken, and

' the reed is swung back. On the third pick, however,

the control rod 28 is pulled laterally against the action of spring "30. out of thefpath of the adjusting arm 24.

When the reed motion shaft'lti is rotated the arm will swing past the rod.28,'so there willbenothing blocking further rotation of the shaft 20.. The link 23 will be-raised as the lay moves forward, and the toggle 17 will not be broken, so that the reed will be moved forward with thelay and will beat up the picks into the fell of the cloth, as in 1 16-2, This completesthe cycle, and with the movement of, the lay and'reed back away from the beat up position, a new three pick cycle begins.

From this description, it will be clear to those skilled in the art how this simple control mechanism can be used to adjust the reed swing and vary the cycle easily and quickly. In order toadjust the swing of the reed, it is only necessary to adjust the adjusting screw 24a, since thiswill determine. wherein relation to. the position of the end of control rod 28 the adjusting arm24 is stopped, and consequently will determine the vertical position of link 23. This in turn controls. the amount. by which the toggle breaks, so that if itis desired to have the reed swing back a little more, the. adjustingiscrew 24a is screwed further through the arm 24, so that the .FIG. 3

way during the forward movement of the lay so that the swing of the reed will not be to the rearmost position shown in FIG. 3, but will be somewhere between the FIG. 2 and the FIG. 3 positions. This will cause partial beat up of the picks laid into the cloth, which is necessary' when it is desired that all the pile loops project to the same side of the cloth. To do this, the control head is set so that it will withdraw the rod 28 part way on the pick after which it is desired to cause partial beat up. The end of the rod 28 is provided with a more deeply milled fiat, for example a flat which has been milled through the longitudinal axis of the shaft, so that the adjusting arm 24 will be blocked in its movement at a point past the point at which it would be blocked for the full swinging back of the reed. The crank 22 will thus swing further and raise the link 23 higher, so that the toggle will not be fully broken when the lay moves forward. The reed will thus partially beat up the picks which have been laid in the cloth since the last full beat up.

It is very simple to change to regular weaving in which beat up occurs on every pick, or to change-the number of picks which are laid into the cloth prior to beat up. All that is necessary is to change the control head so that the rod 28 is withdrawn from the path of arm 24 -on every pick, or on every fourth, fifth, etc. pick. No

new rod 28 is necessary, nor need the drive of the loom 'be changed in any way, except insofar asthe control subject to hard wear.

It will of course be appreciated that'if the toggle mechanism on the reedbreaks in the upward direction, it will be necessary either to place the control rod above the'arm 24 if the arm 24 is to project toward the front of the loom, or to place it behind the reed motion shaft 20 if it is desired 'to mount the rod 28 below the level .of the shaft 20. This is because it will then be the lowering of the link 23 which is necessary to lock the toggle to cause the reed to beat up, thereby necessitating the rearrangement of the position of the control rod.

It will also be appreciated that the specific shape of the control rod need not be round. Other cross sectional shapes will be equally satisfactory, and for certain purposes might be preferred. The essential requirement is that the member against'which the free end of the adjusting arm abuts be movable laterally of the movement of the adjusting arm, so that it can be withdrawn partially or completely so that different levels of flats can be placed in position in the path of the adjusting arm 24 easily and simply.

A further feature of the reed motion control according to the present invention is the combination therewith of a center reed lock motion. As seen best in FIGS. 5 and 6, a form of center reed lock which is common on wide looms, comprises a lock plunger 40 which is inserted into an aperture 41a in an aperture forming member 41'on the back of the reed bed 12 when the reed reaches the beat up position in order to prevent the'reed from bowing away from the fell of the cloth in the center of the reed. The lock plunger 40 is mounted on a plate member 42 which is slidable up and down on a pin 43 which is mounted on a part 44 of the loom frame and which extends through an elongated slot 42a in the plate member. A spring 45 extends between the top of the frame part 44 to the bottom of the plate member 42 and tends to urge the plate member and the lock plunger 40 upwardly.

Center reed lock control means are connected to the plate member 42 and to the reed motion control which controls the vertical reciprocating movement of the lock member 40. This means comprises a flexible strap 46 having a hook 47 on one end thereof hooked to the 7 plate member 42, and having the other end extending around a pulley 48 mounted on a frame member 49 of the loom. The other end of the flexible strap 46 has a strap bracket 50 thereon and a strap bracket stud 51 is connected between the adjusting arm 24 of the reed motion control and the strap bracket 50.

During the operation of the loom, as the adjusting arm 24 swings upwardly in FIG. 4, to the position corresponding to the said first rotational position of the link 23 in FIG. 3, the end of the strap 46 connected to the stud 51 will be pulled upwardly so that the other end will be pulled downwardly, pulling the lock plunger downwardly against the action of spring 45. When the adjusting arm swings back, and abuts against the rod 28, so that the reed does not beat up, the end of the strap with the bracket 59 thereon will not be lowered very much and consequently the other end of the strap will not be raised very much. The lock plunger 40 will therefore not be allowed to rise into what would normally bea lay engaging position. However, when the rod 28 is withdrawn, and the adjusting arm 24 swings downwardly for the full extent of the rotational rnovernent of, control shaft 20, the end of the strapv 46 with bracket 50 thereon will be lowered considerably, so that the other end will be allowed to rise under the action of spring45 to enter into the aperture 41a on the back of the reed bed 12 to prevent the reed from bowing.

The same control which controls the reed motion is therefore utilized to control the center reed lock, the overall mechanism being extremely simple and easy to construct and maintain, yet replacing a vastly more complex and difiicult to maintain apparatus.-

It is thought that the invention and its advantagesv will be understood from the foregoing description and it is apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing its material advantages, the form'hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

, 1. A reed motion control for a terry loom which has a reed swinging means for swinging the reed away from the beat up position and holding the reed in the beat up position, a reed motion shaft linked to the swinging means, and drive means for rotating the reed motion shaft back and forth between a position in which the reed swinging means holds the reed in the beat up position and a position in which the reed motion shaft is,rotated beyond the position in which the reed swinging means is held out of the reed beat up position, said reed motion control comprising an adjusting arm adapted to bemounted on the reed motion shaft, a replaceable adjustable member on the. free end of said adjusting arm adjustable in the direction of movement of said adjusting arm, a control member mounted for lateral movement relative to the path of said adjustingarm as it is swung back and forth by the reed motion shaft from a position in which one end is in the path of and abuttable by said adjustable member on said adjusting arm to a second position in which the end is out of the path of the'adjusting arm, and actuating means connected to said control member adapted to couple said control member to a control means for the loom.

2. A reed motion control as claimed in claim 1 in which said replaceable adjustable member is a setscrew extending through the end of said adjusting arm.

3. A reed motion control for a terry loom which has a reed swinging means for swinging the reed away from the beat up position and holding the reed in the beat up position, a reed motion shaft linked to the swinging I a position in which the reed motion shaft is rotated beyond the position in which the reed swinging means is held out of the reed beat opposition, said reed motion control comprising an adjusting arm adapted to be mounted on the reed motion shaft, a guide member mounted adjacent the path of said adjusting arm and extending laterally thereof, a control rod mounted in said guide member for lateral movement relative to the path of said adjusting arm as it is swung back and forth by the reed motion shaft from a position in which one end is in the path of and abuttable by said adjusting arm to a second position in which the end is out of the path of the'adjusting arm, spring means coupled between said guide memher and said control rod and urging said control rod toward the position in which the end is in the path of the adjusting arm, stop means on said guide member against which saidcontrol rod is abuttable limiting movement thereof toward the position in which the end is in the.

' path of the adjusting arrn, and actuating means connected I to said control rod adapted to couple said control rod to a control means for the loom.

- 4. A reed motion control for a terry loom which has a reed swinging means for swin'ging the reed away from the vbeat up position and holding the reed'in thebeat up position, a reed motion shaft linked to the swinging means, anddrive means for rotating the reed motion shaft back -and"fonth-between a position in which the reed swinging means holds the reed in the beat up position and a position in whichthe reed motion shaft is rotated beyond the position in which the-reed swinging means is held out of the reed beat up position, said reed motion control comprising an adjusting arm' adapted to be mountedon the reed motionshaft, a tubular member adapted to be mounted' on the loom and extending-laterally relative to the path of said adjusting arm as it is swung back and forth by thereed motion shaft, a control rod slidably mounted in said tubular member, said tubular member having an aperture therein and said control rod having a projec tion thereonextending through said aperture, said projection being movable in' said aperture--1or permitting sliding movement of' said control rod from a position in which one. end is in the path of and abuttable by said adjusting arm to a second position in which the end is out of the path of the adjusting arm, a spring -connec;ed to said projection urging said control rod toward the position in which the'end is in the path of the adjusting arm, and actuating means connected to said control rodadapted to couple said control rod to a control means for the loom; v 7

5. A reed motion control as claimed in claim 4 in which said adjusting arm has a set screw threaded through the free end thereof which abuts the end of the control rod.

7. A reed motion and center reed lock; control for a the reed away from the beat up position and holding the reed in the beat up position, a reed motion shaft linked to the swinging means, drive means for rotating the reed terry loom which has a reed swinging means for swinging means is held out of the-reed beat up position, and a center reed lock'havinga lock plunger movable into and out of position behind the reed when the reed is in the beat up position to keep the reed from bowing, the lock plunger being spring biased toward the locking position said reed motion and center reed lock control comprising an adjusting arm adapted tobe mounted on the reed motion shaft, a control member mounted for lateral movement relative to the path of the s'aid'adjusting arm as it is swung back and forth by the reed motion shaft from a position in which one'end is in the path ofand abuttable by said adjusting arm to a second position in which the end is out of the path of the adjusting arm, actuating means connected ,to, 'said control .merhber adapted to couple said controlmember to acontr'ol means for. the loom, a flexible member adapted tohavelon'e end connected to the lock plunger of' the center reed'lo'ck, and a connection between the other end of saidflexible member and said adjusting arm for causing the lock plunger to be pulled downwardly and held down against the biasing thereof when said adjusting arm abuts said control member and allowing the lock plunger to move into the locking position when. said adjusting arm moves past said control member. 5

8. A reed motion 1 and centerreed i-lock. control as claimed in claim 7 in which said flexible member is a ilexibleistrap and said connection betweenthe said flexible member and said adjusting arm comprises a studon said adjusting arm moving in the path of movement of said adjusting arm, thefree endof said stud being connected to the end of said flexible strap. Y

' 9. A reed motion "and center reed ,locl; control as claimed in claim 8 in whichsaid adjusting arm moves up and down in a vertical plane and in which it is blocked References Citedbythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 937,139, 10/09 Bardsley 1 39 27 1,739,192 12/29 Wakefield 139 27 1,901,769 3/33 Parker '139-j-27X 2,625,956 1/53 Sippel 139-26 2,947,327 8/60 McHargue; 139 27f FOREIGN PATENTS 610,187 6/26 France. 7 V

197,547 8/38 Switzerland.

DONALDW. PARKER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A REED MOTION CONTROL FOR A TERRY LOOM WHICH HAS A REED SWINGING MEANS FOR SWINGING THE REED AWAY FROM THE BEAT UP POSITION AND HOLDING THE REED IN THE BEAT UP POSITION, A REED MOTION SHAFT LINKED TO THE SWINGING MEANS, AND DRIVE MEANS FOR ROTATING THE REED MOTION SHAFT BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN A POSITION IN WHICH THE REED SWINGING MEANS HOLDS THE REED IN THE BEAT UP POSITION AND A POSITION IN WHICH THE REED MOTION SHAFT IS ROTATED BEYOND THE POSITION IN WHICH THE REED SWINGING MEANS IS HELD OUT OF THE REED BEAT UP POSITION, SAID REED MOTION CONTROL COMPRISING AN ADJUSTING ARM ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON THE REED MOTION SHAFT, A REPLACEABLE ADJUSTABLE MEMBER ON THE FREE END OF SAID ADJUSTING ARM ADJUSTABLE IN THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID ADJUSTING ARM, A CONTROL MEMBER MOUNTED FOR LATERAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE PATH OF SAID ADJUSTING ARM AS IT IS SWUNG BACK AND FORTH BY THE REED MOTION SHAFT FROM A POSITION IN WHICH ONE END IS IN THE PATH OF AND ABUTTABLE BY SAID ADJUSTABLE MEMBER ON SAID ADJUSTING ARM TO A SECOND POSITION IN WHICH THE END IS OUT OF THE PATH OF THE ADJUSTING ARM, AND ACTUATING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID CONTROL MEMBER ADAPTED TO COUPLE SAID CONTROL MEMBER TO A CONTROL MEANS FOR THE LOOM. 